Increased scrutiny of the effects of various pesticides and other chemical agents has placed a greater emphasis on the utilization of already widely known agents whose effects have been studied over the years. Current federal regulations have slowed the development of new active agents such that it may take upwards of several years to bring to the marketplace a new and more effective agent that will meet the imposed governmental standards. In addition to the increased developmental time required, costs have also risen whereby development costs for a new pesticide in 1967 were $3.4 million, the cost has now risen to $8 million.
In view of the above, it is increasingly attractive to effectively utilize known agents for the control of agricultural pests. This could be done by decreasing the influence of environmental factors such as heat, humidity and rain upon the agent. Further, a desirable end result would be the extension of the active life of the agent in order to decrease the number of applications of the agent. A still further desirable end result would be the maintenance of the activity of the agent at a steady level such that the initial application activity would not be dangerously high followed by a period of the proper level followed by a period of low activity.